Container holding apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for holding containers having cylindrical necks. The device includes an elongated body having a conically tapered distal end portion wherein the body is provided with four equally spaced apart, axially aligned, rectangular grooves. The grooves receive rectangular, elongated fingers which are loosely held in the grooves by means of pins. The fingers are biased outwardly by means of a pair of springs axially received in a pair of openings provided between opposite grooves.

United States Patent Robertson Apr. 23, 1974 [54] CONTAINER HOLDINGAPPARATUS FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 Inventor: Elmer Roberlson,Overland Park 909,734 10/1962 Great Britain 269/52 Kans- 1,254,1171/1961 France 269/52 [73] Assignee: Ethyl Development Corporation,

Kansas City, Mo. Primary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey AssistantExaminer-Clifford D. Crowder [22] Flled: 1972 Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Donald L. Johnson; John F. [21] Appl. No.: 315,181 Sieberth; E.Donald Mays Related [1.8. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No.157,401, June 28, 1971, Pat. No. [57] ABSTRACT 3,732807- An apparatusfor holding containers having cylindrical necks. The device includes anelongated body having [52] U.S. C1 279/2, 101/407 R, 269/48.1 a i ntapered distal end portion wherein the [51] Int. Cl B231) 31/40, B23q3/14 body is provided with four equally Spaced apart, [58] Fleld ofSearch 269/481 47; 279/24 ally aligned, rectangular grooves. The groovesreceive 101/407 407 A rectangular, elongated fingers which are looselyheld in the grooves by means of pins. The fingers are biased [56]References C'ted outwardly by means of a pair of springs axially re-UNITED STATES PATENTS ceived in a pair of openings provided betweenoppo- 2,s35,517 5/1958 Beerli 279/2 UX Site grooves- 2,775,025 12/1956Williams... 279/2 X 2,882,061 4/1959 Johnson 279/2 2 Clams 14 DmwmgPATENTEUAPR 23 I974 SHEET 5 0F 8 FIG. 6.

PATENTEDAPR 23 I974 SHEET 7 OF 8 I F IIIII FIG. ll.

#ATENTEDAPR 23 mm 3.806140 SHEET 8 OF 8 FIG. I4.

CONTAINER HOLDING APPARATUS This is a division, of application Ser. No.157,401, filed June 28, 1971, now US. Pat. No. 3,732,807.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to a method and apparatus for printing indicia on hollowarticles using a hot stamping technique.

2. Description of the Prior Art I-Iot stamp printing has been used for anumber of years to supply decorative relief or printed indicia upon thesurface of plastic objects, in particular upon the faces of plasticbottles and containers. In this art a strip of foil carrying either apigment coating or a thin metal coating thereon is interposed betweenthe article desired to be imprinted and a die plate which contains aheated element having the desired display or indicia thereon. Thearticle is pressed firmly against the heated die, and the pigment istransferred from the carrier foil to the surface of the plasticcontainer by partially melting the container surface and fusing thepigment coating thereto.

One method and apparatus for hot stamp printing of plastic bottles thatis commercially used is that described in U. S. Pat. No. 2,751,701. Inthis apparatus the bottles are carried by arms on a rotating shaft andpositioned sequentially between open halves of a split die holder. Eachdie holder contains a heated die plate which is pressed against a foilthat is positioned over the surface of the die plate when the moldhavles are pressed together. Air pressure is applied to the interior ofthe bottle to force the bottle into conformance with the die cavity andto firmly seat the bottle wall against the heated die plate and, thus,effect the transfer of the indicia thereto.

While the apparatus disclosed in the foregoing patent has been foundsuitable for commercially producing hot stamp decorated plastic bottles,the complexity of the apparatus and the high investment cost havesomewhat restricted the use of such apparatus in the art. From theforegoing it can be seen that the plastic bottle decorating industrycould use a hot-stamp machine and a method which would speed up theproduction of hot stamp printed plastic containers. Additionally, thereis a need for a hot stamp machine and method which will utilize a fairlysimple machine which can be constructed at substantially less cost thanrequired for machines presently used in hot stamping plastic containers.Additionally, there is a need in the industry for a hot stamping machinewhich is capable of being used in multiples in order to provide for hotstamping indicia on plastic containers using a number of differentcolors or types of pigment foils. Presently, the application of morethan one color hot stamped indicia on one surface of a plastic bottlerequires repeat runs through the same or similar machine to achieve twoor more colors on one face of the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a method and apparatus for hot stamp printing of plasticcontainers which utilizes an apparatus having a simplitied construction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus for hot stamp printing of hollow plastic containers which willincrease the speed of printing the containers. I

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a methodand apparatus for hot stamp printing of hollow plastic containers whichis capable of applying a number of different colors to the containers.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an apparatusfor hot stamp printing of hollow plastic containers which is moreeconomical to construct than apparatuses used heretofore.

The foregoing objects and other advantages brought out hereinafter arerealized in the apparatus aspects of the present invention in anapparatus for hot stamp printing of hollow plastic containers whichincludes a split die holder having a cavity of substantially the samesize and shape as the container. Means are provided for rigidlypositioning the first half of the split die holder. Means are alsoprovided for positioning the container in the cavity in the first halfof the split die holder. Means for moving the second half of the splitdie holder into position with the first half to enclose the containerwithin the cavity are provided. Means for introducing a compressed gasinto the interior of the container through the positioning means arealso provided.

The process aspects of the present invention are realized in a processfor hot stamp printing of hollow plastic containers which. include thesteps of rigidly positioning the first half of a split die holder, thedie holder having a cavity of substantially the same size and shape asthe container. The second half of the split die holder is movablypositioned opposite and out of contact with the first half of the splitdie holder. The container is positioned between the open first andsecond die holder halves; The container is moved into the cavity of thefirst half of the die holder, and the second half of the die holder ismoved into position adjacent the first half to enclose the containerwithin the cavity. A compressed gas is introduced into the interior ofthe container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevational, front view ofan apparatus for hot stamp printing of hollow plastic containersconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a right-hand-side, elevational view of the apparatus of FIG.1;

. FIG. 3 is a left-hand-side, elevational view of the ap paratus of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a right-hand-side, elevational view similar to FIG. 2, butshowing the apparatus with the die holders in the open position;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, partially in section, showing theconstruction of the pigment-coated film or foil takeup mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 taken along theline 6-6;

FIG. 7 is a sectional plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 taken alongthe line 7-7;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view, partially in section, of the indexing,rotatable drive mechanism for elevating the die holder and rotating thebottle into position between the die halves;-

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, top plan view of the cylindrical mounting blockfor the rotating arms that carry the bottles into the die holder halves.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, sectional view of FIG. 9 taken along the line10-10;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 8 taken alongthe line 11-11;-

FIG. 12 is an enlarged, elevational view of the locking collar devicefor the turret assembly;

FIG. 13 is an exploded, elevational, perspective view of the expandableplug that is inserted in the container neck opening to support thecontainer; and

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal, sectional view of the expandable plug of FIG.13.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and3, the hot stamping apparatus of the present invention is mounted on agenerally rectangular base which is adapted to rest on a floor surface21. The hot stamp apparatus includes a generally C-shaped support frame,designated generally 22, which is attached to the base by means of bolts23. The rear lower portion (see FIG. 1) of the frame is provided withtwo downwardly extending, lateral wing portions 2424 which providestability for the support frame. The frame is provided with an openingin the lower, central, rear portion thereof (not shown) in which ismounted a pneumatic, doule-acting power cylinder, designated generally25. The power cylinder is pivotably mounted in the opening in the frame22 by means of a front trunnion 26. The power cylinder 25 is providedwith a piston rod 27 which is threadedly connected to the inner end of apush rod 28. The outer end of push rod 28 is pivotably connected tolower link arm 29 and also to upper link arm 30. The lower end of lowerlink arm 29 is pivotably attached to a mounting block 31 which is, inturn, attached to the support frame 22. The mounting block 31, which ispreferably formed from a casting, includes two vertically extending,integrally formed sleeve guides 32 and 33. The lower end of verticallyextending guide rod 34 is slidably received within the sleeve guide 32.The upper end of the guide rod is attached to the lower face of thelower die holder platen 35. The lower end of guide rod 36 is alsos-lidably received in sleeve guide 33, and the upper end thereof isattached to the lower surface of the lower die holder platen 35. Theupper end of upper link arm is pivotably attached also to the bottomsurface of the lower die holder platen 35.

The upper arm 22a of the support frame 22 is provided with an integrallyformed, cylindrical sleeve 37. The threaded support rod 38 is slidablyreceived within the sleeve 37 and can be locked in a fixed positionwithin the sleeve by means of upper and lower locking nuts 3939. Thelower end of the threaded support rod 38 is received in a boss providedin the top surface of upper die holder platen 40.

Positioned between lower die holder mounting platen and upper die holdermounting platen 40 is a split die holder, designated generally by thenumeral 41. The split die holder 41 includes upper die holder half 41a,and lower die holder half 41b. The upper die holder half 41a isremovably attached to the upper die holder mounting platen 40 by meansof bolts (not shown). An insulating plate 42 is positioned between aflat back face of upper die holder half 41a and the lower face of theupper die holder mounting platen 40 to prevent transmission of heat fromthe upper die holder half 41a into the mounting platen 40. Thisinsulating plate may conveniently be made of asbestos or other low heatconducting material. The lower die holder half 41b is likewise attachedto the upper surface of lower die holder mounting platen 35 by means ofbolts (not shown) and is separated therefrom by an insulating plate 42.When the upper and lower die holder halves are in the closed position,as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the split die holder is provided with acavity 43 internally which has substantially the same shape as thehollow article to be received therein and subsequently imprinted. Asseen more clearly in FIGS. 6 and 7, the upper and lower die holderhalves are each provided with an axial opening 44 which defines the neckshape of the bottle and receives the neck of the bottle therein. Eitherone or both of the die holder halves 41a and 41b are provided with anelectrically heated die insert (not shown) which contains the indiciadesired to be printed upon the plastic container. Additionally, theupper and lower die holder halves are also provided with channelstherein (not shown) and a source of circulating cooling fluid wherebythe body of the dies may be maintained at a set temperature to I avoidheat transfer to the bottle. The construction of dies and of split dieholders is well known in the art, and reference is made to U. S. Pat.No. 2,751,701, discussed previously, for a further disclosure ofsuitable dies and die holders and their construction and operation. Thedisclosure of U. S. Pat. No. 2,751,701 is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 5, 6 and 7, the pigmented foil or film 45 istransported across the face of the upper mold half 42a by means of anupper film transport assembly, designated generally by the numeral 46. Alower film transport assembly, designated generally by the numeral 47,transports the film across the face of the lower die holder half 41b andhas a construction similar to that of the upper film transport assembly.The upper film transport assembly 46 includes a front, verticallyextending support bracket 48 which is attached to the upper die holderplaten 40 by means of screws 49. A back support bracket 50 is attachedto the back side of upper die holder platen 40 also by means of screws49. A supply roll 51 of pigmented film or foil is carried on the shaft52 rotatably mounted between the front and back support brackets 48 and50. Slidable locking collars 5353 are mounted on shaft 52 on either sideof the supply roll 51 and apply compression to springs 54 which, inturn, apply pressure to alignment collars 55 to position the film on theshaft 52. The film passes over a rod 56 mounted between the front andback brackets. The free end of the film is passed between a knurledmetal roller 57 and a rubber covered roller 58 which are mounted betweenthe front and back brackets at the opposite end of the film transportassembly from the storage roll.

After each bottle is printed, it is necessary to shift thepigment-coated foil to place a new section of foil within the cavity ofthe die holders to print the next bottle. The foil is shifted by meansof an air cylinder 64, as seen more clearly in FIG. 5. As seen in FIGS.1 and 5, the takeup power cylinder 64 is attached to front supportbracket 48 by means of a clamp 65. A toothed rack 66 is attached to theend of the shaft of the takeup power cylinder 64 and actuates a gearwheel 67 (see FIG. 7) which is fixedly attached to one end of theknurled metal takeup roll 57. The gear wheel 67 is connected to the endof the shaft which carries the roller 57 by means of a one-way clutch(not shown) whereby, upon retraction of the toothed rack 66, the gearwheel rotates freely on the end of the shaft. Takeup power cylinder 59has a cylinder rod 60 attached to lever arm 61 which is pivoted on theend of rubber covered roller 58. Rod 62 extends underneath the foil andhas one end attached to lever arm 61 and the other end attached tosupport arm 63 which is pivotably connected to the other end of theidler roll 58. As seen in FIG. 5, when the cylinder 59 is actuated,cylinder rod is pulled down, thus raising lever arm 61 to the positionshown in dotted outline in FIG. 5 and, thus, providing slack in the foil45 forward to permit conformation of the foil to the die holder cavitywhen pressed into the cavity by the bottle wall. The cylinder thenreturns to its original position. The waste foil is collected in astorage container (not shown).

As can be seen in FIG. 6, the lower film transport assembly 47 isconstructed of the same elements, except they are reversed in direction,in order to provide the same functions as carried out by the upper filmtransport assembly.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 8, the hot stamp apparatus includes arotatably mounted turret assembly, designated generally by the numeral68. The turret assembly is mounted on frame 22 and includes a shaft 69which is received in bushings -75 provided in openings in the upper andlower ends of the frame 22 and is rotatably attached thereto by means ofnuts 70 and 74. Needle thrust bearings 73-73 are provided between thenuts 70 and 74 and the frame ends to permit rotation of the shaft 69.The upwardly directed support brackets 72-72 are fixedly attached to thelower arm of the support frame 22. Drive pulley 76 is fixedly attachedto the lower end of the drive shaft 69. Drive belt 77 connects drivepulley 76 to power pulley 78 which is driven by shaft 79 extendingupwardly from indexing gear box 80 attached to the frame 20. In indexinggear box 80 there are provided cams and followers (not shown) whichintermittently drive shaft 69 through scheduled, sequential incrementsto position the bottles within the cavity of the die holder. Indexinggear box 80 is driven by electric motor 81 through drive shaft 82.Extending downwardly from indexing gear box 80 is a lower or cam driveshaft 83 on which are mounted a plurality of generally circular earns84. The cams actuate individual microelectrical switches 85 which aremounted on support bracket 86. The plurality of electrical switches 85are a part of the electrical circuits which control the energization ofthe power cylinder 25 and the actuating and takeup cylinders 64 and 59for the foil takeup mechanism I The indexing gear box 80, electricalmotor 81, cam shaft 83 and bracket 86 are supported by means of areinforced support bracket 87 which is attached to the underside of theframe 20, as may be seen more clearly in FIGS. 1 and 3.

As seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the upper ends of spaced apart supportbrackets 72-72 support a pivot pin 88 on which is pivotably mounted thelower end ofa yoke assembly 89. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, the upper endof the yoke assembly 89 is pivotably mounted on the lower die holderplaten 35 and is actuated by the movement of the platen. As seen moreclearly in FIGS. 2, 8 and 11, each arm of the yoke assembly 89 isprovided in its respective mid-portions with pins 90-90 which havemounted on their inner ends roller bearings 91-91. The roller bearingsare received between spaced apart collars 92-92 which are provided on anannular sleeve 93. The annular sleeve 93 is attached by means of bolts94 to downwardly projecting fingers 95 which form the lower portion ofmovable cylindrical sleeve 96. Upper cylindrical sleeve 96 is slidablymounted on rotatable rod 69 by means of a cylindrical bushing 97received in the-upper end of the sleeve. The upper end of the sleeve 96is provided with threads 98.

An annular turret body 99 is slidably received over the threaded upperend of the cylindrical sleeve 96. As seen more clearly in FIGS. 9 and10, the turret body is provided with a plurality of spaced apart,threaded openings 100 in its outer cylindrical surface. A plurality ofcylindrical bores 101 are provided on the top surface of the turret bodyto intersect the openings 100 provided on the cylindrical surface of thebody. Each of the threaded openings 100 in the turret body threadedlyreceives the inner end of a support arm 102 which is adapted to carry onits outer end plastic bottle 103 upon which the hot stamp printing is tobe affixed. The turret body 99 is locked to upper cylindrical sleeve 96for rotation therewith by means of two keys 116-116 and a locking collar104 positioned below and attached to the turret body 99. Locking collar104 is provided with an upwardly extending arm 105 which provides anopening therein for bolt 106 for connection to the turret body 99. Asseen more clearly in FIG. 12, knurled hand nut 107 is threadedlyreceived on cylindrical sleeve 96 and is positioned between turret body99 and the locking collar 104. By loosening the locking collar androtating the knurled nut 107, the position of the turret and extendingsupport arms 102 can be adjusted upwardly or downwardly on sleeve 96.

An air conduit 108, having an outer threaded surface, has its upper endattached to the upper arm 22a of the support frame and has affixed toits lower end a hollow tip 109 which is threadedly received on airconduit 108 and can be locked thereon by means of nut 110. As can beseen, particularly in FIG. 8, the lower end of the hollow tip 109 isbeveled and is adapted to make an air seal with the slightly beveledsurface at the top body of the turret 99 to thereby inject air into theopenings 101 and, thus, through the hollow support arms 102 to theinterior of the bottles 103 to expand the bottles against the pigmentedfoil and the die inserts in the die holder 41. A source of clean,compressed air (not shown) is connected to the upper end of air conduit108.

Lower cylindrical sleeve 111 is attached to drive shaft 69 at the lowerend of the sleeve for rotation therewith by means of pins 112-112.Spacer bushing 113 is positioned between the lower end of the sleeve 111and the drive shaft 69. The upper end of the lower cylindrical sleeve111 is provided with a plurality of fin- I gers 114 which are slidablyreceived in the slots 115 defined by the spaced apart fingers 95-95 onthe upper sleeve 96. As seen more clearly in FIG. 11, each downwardlyextending finger 95 is slidably received between the two adjacent,upwardly extending fingers 114-114 whereby the upper sleeve 96 can bemoved upwardly and downwardly on rotatable shaft 69, but is subject torotation by engagement with the fingers 114 on the lower sleeve 1 1 1which is driven through drive shaft 69.

The process of hot stamping plastic bottles utilizing the hereindescribed apparatus will be described with reference first to FIGS. 1, 2and 4. At the start of the hot stamping cycle, the apparatus componentsare in the positions depicted in FIG. 4 of the drawing. Piston rod 27 isin the extended position which forces push rod 28 forward causing theupper link arm 30 and lower link arm 29 to pivot at the ends thereof. Asthe upper link arm 30 pivots, it pulls the lower die holder platen 35downwardly, and guide rods 34 and 36 slide through sleeves 32 and 33 tothe lower position shown in the drawing. This action moves downwardlythe lower die holder half 41b and provides a clear space between thisdie holder half and the fixedly positioned upper die holder half 41a toposition the plastic bottle 103 therebetween. When the lower die holdermounting platen 35 moves downwardly, it also moves into the downposition the upper end of the yoke assembly 89 which, in turn, moves theupper cylindrical sleeve 96 downwardly on shaft 69 thereby carrying theturret mechanism to its loading position between the open halves of thedie holders 41a and 41b. The height of the turret 99 is adjusted bymeans of knurled lock nut 107 as described hereinbefore to provideclearance for the walls of the bottle between the upper die half holder41a and the lower die half holder 4112. For large diameter bottles itwill be necessary to move the turret body 99 towards the upper end ofthe sleeve 96. Additionally, more clear space can be attained betweenthe matching faces of the open die holders 41a and 41b by movingupwardly the upper die holder platen 40 by means of the threaded supportrod 38 and locking nuts 39-39. Thus, the apparatus of the presentinvention can be utilized to hot stamp either very small containers,intermediate size containers or relatively large containe'rs without anunduly long setup time between runs.

Plastic bottles for imprintingare placed upon the ends of support arms102 either by hand or by an auto matic loading machine. Electric meter81 is energized, and gear box 80 moves through its cycle toincrementally rotate the shaft 69 through the belts and pulleysattachment to index one of the arms 102 carrying the bottle 103 to aposition directly between the open die holder halves 41a and 41b. One ofthe cams 84 then actuates one of the electrical switches 85 to reversethe pressure of the gas in the pneumatic power cylinder 25, thusretracting the piston rod 27, pulling rod 28 inwardly and causing theupper and lower toggle arms 29 and 30 to elevate the lower die holderplaten 35 and the lower die half 41b upwardly into .position adjacentthe upper die holder half 41a. As lower die holder platen 35 movesupwardly, yoke 89, which is attached at its outer end to the die holderplaten, moves the upper sleeve 96 upwardly carrying the turret mechanismand the bottle 103 gradually into the cavity 43 of the upper die holderhalf 41a. By properly positioning the turret 99 on the movable sleeve96, the bottle is moved vertically at a rate which is slightly slowerthan the rate which the lower die holder half 41b moves upwardly. Therate of vertical movement of the bottle 103 is adjusted so that just asdie holder halves 41a and 41b come to their stop position, the bottle ispositioned symmetrically within the cavities 43-43 of the closed dieholder halves. Air pressure is then applied to the interior of thebottle within the die holders by means of air conduit 108, nozzle 109,turret 99 and hollow support arms 102. The pressure applied is generallyfrom about 60 to about I50 psi, perferably from about 95 to about 125psi. The bottle walls are, thus, expanded firmly against the strip offoil carried over each face of the bottle, and the foil is tightlypressed against the raised lettering on the heated die or dies (notshown) within the die holders which are heated by electrical heaters(not shown). The pigments are transferred from the foil strip to thebottle faces and are fixedly attached thereto. After a short intervalcontrol by the timing mechanism, the control assembly reverses the airpressure on cylinder 25 to draw the lower die holder half 41b downwardlyand simultaneously to retract the sleeve 96, turret 99, arms 102 and thebottle 103 downwardly into a clear position between the fully opened dieholder halves 41a and 41b. The speed of electric motor is adjustableand, thus, the rate of incremental stepping of the turret assembly 68 iscontrolled by the speed of the motor. After the die holder halves are intheir maximum open position, the gear box 80 energizes the drive shaft69 through a preset arc to rotate the arm 102 to carry the imprintedbottle out of the clear space between the die holder halves and, at thesame time, to move the next bottle to be printed into exact alignmentbetween open mold halves 41a and 41b. The printed bottle is then removedeither by hand or by an automatic removal device. The sequence is thenrepeated as described above, and successive bottles are printed in rapidsuccession by the apparatus of the present invention.

As seen in FIGS. 13 and 14, each arm 102 that extends from the turretbody 99 is provided at its end with an expandable plug member,designated generally 117,

adapted to be received in the neck of the container 103 includes agenerally cylindrical body 118 having a truncated, conical, forward endsection 119. A longitudinal, axial bore 120 is provided in body 118 tosupply compressed air to the interior of the bottle. The outer end ofthe bore 121 is hexagonally shaped to accept an Allen wrench forscrewing the externally threaded rear end 122 of the body 118 into theinternally threaded arm 102. A set screw 123 locks the body againstrotation-in arm 102. The body 118 is provided with four, evenly spacedapart, longitudinally extending grooves 124, each of which slidablyreceives a finger 125. Each finger is retained in its groove by means ofa pair of pins 126126 received in opposed openings 127127 in thesidewalls of the body 118. Pins 126126 pass through enlarged openings128-128 provided in each finger 125. As seen in FIG. 14, springs 129-129received in spaced apart, transverse openings 130-130 in the body biaseach pair of opposed fingers 125 outwardly to force the fingers intotight engagement with the inner wall of the neck of the container.

While there has been described what is considered preferred embodimentsfor practice of the present invention, it will be understood that othermethods and apparatuses may be utilized for carrying out the invention.The invention is to be solely limited by the claims.

radial openings extending through the body and terminating at the bottomof each pair of opposite grooves, the springs urging the fingersradially outward to fixedly engage the inside wall of the cylindricalneck portion of the container when the container is placed on thesupporting device.

2. In the device of claim 1 wherein said conically tapered distal endportion if truncated and provides a tool-receiving recess in thetruncated end.

1. In a device for supporting a container having a cylindrical neckportion, the combination comprising: a. a generally cylindrical,elongated body having a conically tapered distal end portion, said bodybeing provided with four equally spaced apart, axially aligned,substantially rectangular grooves in its exterior surface, said groovesextending over a substantial portion of the distal end portion of thebody; b. a generally rectangular, elongated finger received in each ofsaid grooves, the distal end portion of the finger being taperedinwardly to substantially conform to the shape of the distal end portionof the body; c. a plurality of pins received in aligned openingsprovided in the body and in each finger to retain each finger in itsrespective groove in the body, the pins permitting limited radialmovement of each finger in its respective groove; an d. a pair of spacedapart springs received in a pair of radial openings extending throughthe body and terminating at the bottom of each pair of opposite grooves,the springs urging the fingers radially outward to fixedly engage theinside wall of the cylindrical neck portion of the container when thecontainer is placed on the supporting device.
 2. In the device of claim1 wherein said conically tapered distal end portion if truncated andprovides a tool-receiving recess in the truncated end.